Thanks, Mom.

2009 has become the Year of Ending Debt.

Or thereabouts.

Thanks to Mom, we will be able to pay off all of our outstanding bills save one. We'll be able to purchase the oh-so-sorely-needed furniture for the living room, whose current sofa and chairs would be refused by Goodwill in a heartbeat. We will replace old and decrepit appliances. And we'll put much into savings and retirement. We've already given God back His part of what we've received so far, and look forward to being able to give more in the future as well as save more.

And I'd give every penny and more to have her back, whole and healthy again.

Today I stopped by the jewelry store where I had dropped off her wedding and engagement rings to be sized. I wanted to pay off the sizing fees so I could start wearing them. As soon as they brought out the envelope with the rings and I saw the band of that engagement ring that had been worn so long it had broken, tears welled up in my eyes and spilled over.

It was one of those hit-you-in-the-gut kind of moments you don't see coming.

But it's getting better.

Not a day goes by that I don't think of her and miss her. Not one. But the crying spells are much less frequent now. The hurt is there, but bearable.

Sis and I cleaned out her room last Saturday, decided who would take what, what we would sell, and laughed about the enormous amounts of air freshener and jeans she had accumulated over the years. What on earth does one person do with thirty-three pairs of jeans??? Sis will be making quilts with them. We're still up in the air about the fourteen boxes of two refills each for the Bath and Bodyworks Wallflowers air fresheners.

That was just Mom.

We can't wait to see what other surprises await us as we go through the rest of the house, room by room.

For now, I'm thanking God for being so blessed to have her in the first place.

And Mom?

Thank you.